


Mandarin Oranges

by Herokittykat



Category: Hustle Cat
Genre: Avery uses They/them pronouns, Cats, OC, Other, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 06:50:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6743872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herokittykat/pseuds/Herokittykat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Avery Grey is a 19 year old who finds work at a peculiar cat cafe, only to find out that the cafe is cursed and turns anybody who works there into a cat!<br/>Follow Avery Grey as they deal with romantic attraction to their co-worker Troy as they work to lift the curse of the cafe.<br/>(Avery/Oc)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mandarin Oranges

**Author's Note:**

> Hustle cat belongs to Date Night and this is a complete work of fiction!  
> I use the main storyline of hustle cat, except for this follows the route of Troy, an oc.

 

Three flies buzzed around an empty pizza box as a plump, white cat dozed off inside. Avery lay on a messy sage couch that reeked of pizza and cat. Avery let out a groan as their spine popped and woke up from a blissful slumber on the bread-dough-like couch. 

They blinked the sleep out of their eyes as they looked around at the mess that someone would think to call a room. ‘Sorry Aunt Wendy,’ they thought, as fingernails scraped against cardboard. Avery jumped as they turned to the possessed pizza box that lay on the ground with a few flies buzzing away from it. Taking a hesitant step forward, Avery felt a wave of relief wash over himself as a white and puffy tail popped out of the pizza box with a muffled “Merrh!”.

“Mochi, knock it off!” Avery called to the trash bag that somehow passed as a cat, “You scared the heck outta me!” 

Mochi only responded by another grumpy “Meerh!!” as he climbed out of the box, small pieces of cheese sticking to his fur. The persian waddled out of the living room and into Avery’s bedroom, defeated.

Avery sighed, “What am I going to do with that big oaf.” They stretched their arms and swept open the curtains, bathing the room in a glowing sunlight that made their eyes sting for a couple seconds. After adjusting to the light, Avery plopped back down on the couch with a glance towards their laptop on the coffee table. ‘Oh yeah.. I was job searching…’ Avery pulled the grey computer onto their lap and looked at the bountiful row of tabs that lined the top of the screen.

Now, where was that Gregslist tab. Avery clicked through the bars on the top of the screen, each open with a different cat video. They had been up all night watching videos of Jelly Doughnut, a cat who balances doughnuts on her head. They were also drawn to the few videos of Jelly Doughnut playing with another cat named Mandarin Orange. Mandarin was always playing around with little oranges in the videos and getting himself stuck in places. 

Once they find the tab and scroll endlessly through jobs requiring college credit or three years experience, Avery shuts the computer once more with a defeated sigh. It had been the same way all month. Boring jobs that wouldn't hire unless one wanted minimum wage or had been to Harvard. 

Avery slid the laptop off their lab and onto the couch. “How on EARTH am I going to get a job before aunt Wendy gets back?” They let out a long groan, head flopping onto the back of the couch. After sitting for two… three? Five? Minutes, Avery got up and began for the door. They needed a stress walk.

  
  


The streets were quiet as Avery walked along the side street far from the main walkways and roads. They often found comfort in getting lost in the city streets and alleyways. Avery turned down an unfamiliar street with neatly laid out trash cans along the sides of the path. 

Just when they expected a dead end, the street curved into a path too small for cars to fit through. As Avery continued on, the alleyway opened up into a large street. On the corner of the road, sat a three story building painted bright green with neon orange letters on the side spelling “A Cat’s Paw.”

‘Huh,’ Avery thought, looking at the unmissable building, ‘maybe it's a pet store.’ They approached the building and looked through the windows at a view that surprised them. Inside was not the shelves of pet toys, but a happy little cafe… with cats running around? As they were about to walk away, a sign caught their eye: “NOW HIRING - INQUIRE WITHIN” 

Avery looked down at the clothes that were hardly fit for a job interview and then back at the sign. It was worth a shot wasn't it? They made their way towards the doors, opening to find a neatly set out room with comfortable and clean couches, chairs, and cat trees. Avery stared in awe at the setup that only seemed to exist in fantasy. Around the room were many, many cats of all kinds. Calicos, bob tails, tabbies, siamese, fluffy, slender, tuxedos, and everything inbetween.

“Welcome to A Cat’s Paw!” a voice piped up, startling Avery out of their daze, “Sit anywhere you please!” 

Avery turned to see a tall and lanky man with medium length brown hair, tanned skin, and chocolate eyes. “Uhm, actually-” they started.

“You seem a bit confused, Is this your first time here?” The man said, leaning forwards slightly with a smile that could probably give someone a sugar rush, “Would you like me to explain the cafe a bit? I would love to give you a tour!”

Although Avery was here about the job offer, they couldn't possibly say no to the infectiously happy man, “Yeah, that sounds great!”

“Great!” The man exclaimed, standing tall over Avery, “My name is Landry, feel free to interrupt me if you have any questions at all.”

“You got it Landry, I’m Avery by the way.”

Landry then went on about how all the cats are strays who are taken in by the owner of the cafe to be cared for. Many of the cats were also up for adoption and those that were, were posted on the board next to pictures of cats that had found happy homes.

Avery smiled, listening to Landry enthusiastically going on about the cat cafe. “This all sounds amazing,I bet you’re really happy working here!”

“Well, it's a lot of work, but I like to think it's all worth it”

“Actually, I saw that you were hiring right now?”

“Oh!” Landry was surprised for a second before he composed himself, smile coming back onto his face, “Yeah we actually are! Did my explanation sell you that quickly?”

“Yeah actually! I am also really good with cats because mine is such a handful. I wouldn't think it would be hard for me to help out!” Avery responded, remembering their white ball of cat fur that was probably curled up inside of a pizza box right now.

“That's a good start, liking cats is definitely a job requirement!” Landry chuckled, his smile seeming to fill the room with a pleasant glow, “I’ll go get the owner and you can talk to him about it. Why don't you have a seat while I see if he’s available. Would you like any coffee? I could make some for you.”

“That would be great, thank you!” Avery nodded as Landry went off into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind him. A light tannish siamese cat watches him go timidly with a worried look on it's face and then looks to Avery with wide eyes. They return the sheepish grin and the cat hastily looks away as if it was embarassed.

Landry emerges from the kitchen a moment later with a saucer balanced on his large palms and brings it over to Avery, gingerly placing them down, careful as to not spill anything. He lists a few things in the coffee with a grin and then takes long strides back towards the kitchen, leaving Avery alone with their coffee and the cats.

As Avery goes to pour in a little milk, they accidentally splash the entire thing into the coffee, making a mess as the liquid dribbles down the side. They dive forward to sip from the side as a little chuckle could be heard from behind them. A chuckle? When Avery turned around, there was nothing as an orange and grey calico cat dashed away in a fluffy blur and up onto a cat tree, easily scaling it's way to the top. Strange.

“Mew..” The siamese cat looked over to Avery, seemingly offended that they messed up while making the coffee. 

 

Landry is gone long enough for me to finish my coffee and wonder where everyone else is. It isn't possible that just Landry works here.. Right? Finally, Landry enters the cafe with someone else behind him. “Avery! This is Graves, the owner of the cafe!”

Graves gave off a mysterious aura. He seemed the type to work at a morgue or a witchcraft shop. His was dressed head to toe in dark greys and blacks, and when one looked to his face, they would notice two mismatched eyes. One a sharp orange and the other an icy blue that draws one in with it's alluring pull. 

“I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this!” Graves began speaking in a wistful voice, “He had the eye of a vulture-- a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees-- very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.”

“E-Excuse me??” Avery asked confused at Graves’s unintelligible rambling.

“Tell-Tale Heart,” Graves said as if it was the simplest thing, “You were looking at my eye.”

“...” Avery gawked for a moment, speechless.

“Iridis heterochromia. It’s more common in cats than humans,” Graves looks as if he told a top-of-the-line joke, but there was no punchline anywhere to be seen.

“W-would I need to know that to get a job here?” Avery stammered, still in shock from the… unique person that was Graves. They didn't think they wanted to work for someone like him…

“I just gave away the answer, so I’ll let that one slide,” Graves shrugged and began towards the staircase, “Follow me. We’ll talk on the third floor.”

Avery shakes out of their daze and begins up the stairs behind graves. When they got to the second story, they were met with a quaint little bakery-like area with four tables and some amazing looking cakes. 

Graves leans over the balcony, surveying the cafe below and then raises his voice, “Hayes, will you get us some coffee?”

Avery looked slightly perplexed. Had someone else been down there besides Landry and the cats? “Oh actually, I already had a cup of coffee…” they responded to graves, looking at the black haired man, noticing some lighter streaks that spindled down his hair.

“Is that going to stop you from another? You can never have enough coffee, especially when Hayes is the one making it,” Graves stated as he walked back into the bakery area.

“Oh, I don't think I met Hayes”

“You may have. You might not know yet,” Graves said with a mysterious tone as he folded himself into the chair at the corner table, beckoning Avery to sit down across from him with a simple gesture, “Come on, sit down. Let’s talk. You don't need to be so stiff. Interviews are boring so let's make it interesting for the both of us.”

“No pressure, huh…” Avery mumbled, sitting down across from graves with a worried look on their face.

“Just so you know… we aren't starting without coffee,” Graves folded his fingers, resting his ringed fingers on the table.

Out of the corner of their eyes, Avery noticed a tiny slip of a blonde man standing at the balcony entrance with two cups of coffee held delicately in his small hands. He wore what seemed to be a pink hoodie under a black sweater. The boy had come up the stairs so soundlessly that one could easily confuse him for a ghost. He gingerly sets two mugs in front of graves with a shy look on his face. 

“Thank you, Hayes,” Graves spoke up, a pleased smile across his lips, “but you should give Avery the other mug.”

“Of… Of course,” The boy, Hayes, sounds like a timid kitten when he speaks, his small voice almost soundless. He glances up at Avery for a split second before he suddenly decided that the cats downstairs are the most interesting things on the planet. Hayes pushed the cup towards Avery without looking back up at them.

Graves’s rings clicked against the porcelain cup with small cat pawprints dotted along the sides of the mug, “Perfect, as always. I don't know what I would do without your coffee, Hayes.”

“Oh… It's nothing special, really….” the timid mouse speaks up again, a small blush dancing on his cheeks as he timidly gripped his arm, “If that's all, I’ll go back to the cats.” And with that, he slipped down the stairs soundlessly once again. 

Avery glances down at the mug and sees a sleepy calico cat face drifting in the foam. They made a tiny gasp when seeing the cute little kitten in the mug. Did Hayes make this? They take a sip of the coffee, the sweet liquid tingled across their taste buds as it went down. Avery would add some sugar, but they didn't want to ruin the adorable cat in the mug.

“Now we can get going. Let’s interview.”

Graves asked a bunch of very odd questions, such as: What's your favourite cat breed? Do you know any other languages or ciphers? And even What marine animal best suits you? After asking a few questions, he looks down at his coffee cup and tilts it towards him, completely drawn in by the swirling foam that curled in the dark brown liquid. He looks up at Avery with a small smile on his face “I suppose you’ll do then.” He then looked away from avery and then squinted out of the doorway, “You know what they say about curiosity and cats.”

“What?” Avery was confused and turned around to see the a grey calico from before, peeking out the doorway. The animal huffed, giving a grumpy “Mrrrf” and then turned around out the door. Avery furrowed their brows. Had they seen that cat somewhere before? The calico seemed very familiar, but they couldn't place where they had seen the cat before. Avery shrugged, probably just saw it mucking around the cafe earlier. Turning back to Graves, they remembered what he just said, “Does that mean I get the job?”

Graves smirked, “You’re quite astute. You can start tomorrow.”

Avery’s face lit up,”Wow! Thank you!”

“Don't run off just yet. I have paperwork for you,”  Graves pushes away from the table, taking his coffee with him, he slinks down the stairs. Not three minutes later, he returns with papers and a pen. His coffee cup nowhere to be found.

“So, what will my job be?” Avery asked, taking the paperwork from Graves.

“We’ll see.”

Avery was confused for a moment but pushed it off and took to reading the papers. They felt like they were in a daze, too much information and too much coffee. They skimmed the papers, signing anywhere there was an ‘X’ to sign at. What is it all for? Why is there so much to sign? They sighed, probably taxes and all that stuff. 

Avery pushed the papers back towards graves and he eagerly scoops them off the table. “Perfect,” he started, looking back over the papers to check if it was all signed, “we open by eleven, be here by eight. We'll have the morning prep.” He smirks, noticing avery’s displeasure, “You can work a later shift after training. You won't have to deal with those cursed mornings for too long.” 

Avery nodded along as Graves spoke, sighing at the last part, “Alright that's fine, thank you.”

“Now go. I have a lot of work to do before tomorrow. You need to be fixing that sleep schedule of yours.”

“Okay, Okay,” Avery mused as they watched Graves get lost in his own little world as he read the paperwork. They shrugged, not their problem. 

Avery headed down the stairs, noticing Landry pacing but perking up when he noticed them, “So..?” he asked curiously.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, coworker,” Avery said, smiling brightly.

“Oh, congratulations!” Landry exclaimed, “You can meet everybody else tomorrow morning! I'll make sure they're all ready for a meeting when you get in.”

“How many people worked here?”

“Well, there's ms, Graves, of course… You met Hayes… Finley, Mason, Reese… Oh! I think you met Troy too!l 

Avery stopped at the last name, Troy? “I don't think I met Troy, was he around here today?”

Landry’s eyes widened, noticing his mistake and glancing away towards a cat tree with a grey and orange tail poking out of the hole in the center, “Oh he must've left early.. Yeah.  Anyways! That's all of them, it shouldn't take you too long to get to know them!” 

…. Odd. Who was Troy? Avery shrugged it off, they'll find out tomorrow. “Okay, great! I'll see you all tomorrow, then!”

“Great! See you!”

With that goodbye, Avery left the cafe with an ecstatic look on their face. They finally have a job! As they made their way home, they had the odd feeling of being followed…. “Didn't think that happened outside of movies,” they muttered, peeking around a bit. That's when they saw it. Behind them was a sleek black cat that followed them down the middle of the road that sat down when they made eye contact. It's tail thumps against the pavement as it's different coloured eyes pierce into Avery like silver bullets. 

They kneeled down, ‘Should I… Like, try to bring it to the cafe?’ They beckon the stray towards them, making the little kissie noises that seems to work on some cats. 

The black cat doesn't seem impressed as it's ears pin backwards and it looks away for a moment before slinking away as if it was never there.

  
  


Avery walked back to their apartment with a large pepperoni pizza that they got from Pizzaloid’s on the way home. They had also picked up a can of tuna flavoured wet cat food for Mochi, figuring they could both celebrate Avery’s new job.

“Mochi! Get your fat lump out here! I have good news!” They call as they close the door behind themselves, balancing the tuna can and pizza box on one hand. Said fat lump is nowhere to be seen and gives no indication that he is even in the same room. Avery huffed at the cat’s rude attitude, Mochi never once asked how their day had gone! They move over to the cat’s food bowl and crack the lid of the wet food and within milliseconds, a white cat is thumping his tail impatiently beside the bowl. “Come here you big moron,” avery teased, dishing out half of the tuna and giving mochi a scratch behind the ears.

Mochi digs into the food as if it was his last meal while Avery prepares to do the same to their pizza. They shimmy out of their non-pajama clothing and flop back down on the bread-dough couch, dinner in hand, laptop on their face. “Oh! Looks like there's a new Jelly Doughnut video!” Avery clicks on the video of Jelly Doughnut trying to help Mandarin Orange out of a bag of tiny oranges. Avery lets out a chuckle, wondering how those two calicos manage to get themselves into so much trouble. “Huh, that flooring looks a bit familiar… I wonder where they film these,” Avery mused, taking a massive bite of pizza. They spend the rest of the evening picking through the videos as they sink into the bread dough cushions.

 


End file.
